Monthly Archives: August 2009

Mon 17th August 2009
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
BookHotels.com Domain Sells for 50,000 EUR - Hotel domain name top Sedo’s weekly sales list. Sedo cooled down a bit this week after a few weeks of blockbuster sales. But its sales are nothing to sneeze at. The top sale this week was BookHotels.com. The buyer, who paid 50,000 EUR for the domain, is using privacy protection to block whois for now. Coming in second place at $25,000 is GermProof.com, a domain that should come in handy as cold and flu season rolls in. The domain was bought by Amazon Thunder, ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN
Texas to Auction Off Vanity License Plates - State to auction personalized license plates. Perhaps taking a cue from the United Arab Emirates, the state of Texas hopes to generate cash by auctioning off personalized license plates. Texas is opening up personalized license plates from the previous 6 character limit to 7, which opens up new possibilities such as COWBOYS, which the state and its vendor think may be in high demand. There will also be a couple dozen plate designs to choose from. This isn’t the ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
How to Make .Eco a Success - Here’s some free consulting for .eco top level domain supporters. You may have recently read about a tiff between two groups competing to launch .eco, a domain name for companies to showcase their environmental friendliness. In one corner you’ve got Dot Eco, LLC, with support from Al Gore. In the other corner is Big Room. There’s also another company that has applied for a trademark to .eco, which could make things messier. Both sides have been trading jabs. ... read more ...
Sun 16th August 2009
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
Word Press Starts Its Own Shorting URL, Using The ONLY 2 Letter .ME In The World - WordPress (This blog is published on Word Press) has launched its own URL shorting service and picked a .me to do the trick. WP.me is designed to allow bloggers to link your blog posts to Twitter. It isn’t a general purpose URL shortener or rival to Bit.ly: it’s just for those on WordPress.com. WordPress founder Matt Mullenweg said on his Word Press Blog: WP.me is the only two-letter .me domain in the world. Every blog and post on WordPress.com has a WP.me URL now. These are all exposed in the ... read more ...
Sat 15th August 2009
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
Google Is Changing Its Search Algorithm: Will “Caffeine” Impact PPC? - Google is undergoing a major change to its organic search algorithm, which it has labeled “Caffeine”. According to the official Google announcement : “”””For the last several months, a large team of Googlers has been working on a secret project: a next-generation architecture for Google’s web search. It’s the first step in a process that will let us push the envelope on size, indexing speed, accuracy, comprehensiveness and other dimensions.”” Google is now asking for developers ... read more ...
Fri 14th August 2009
Written by The Domains in EN
Michael Vick Did Not Make A Mistake: WoodStock is 40 & Is The Recession Over? - Without any domain story hanging out their today, wanted to just relay some thoughts on some non-domain related issues. Michael Vick did not make a Mistake. I watched the first “Monday Night Football” game last night and during the pre-game show, each of the four analysts,  made the same comment on Michael Vick; the guy made a “mistake” and deserves a second chance. Michael Vick engaged in a activity and an organization that spanned  over 5 years, which tortured and killed dogs. If you ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Car Dealer Loses EverybodyRides.com (Again) - Virginia car deal finds out that nobody is riding. Virginia car dealer Free Bridge Auto Sales Inc. has lost its challenge for the domain name EverybodyRides.com…for a second time. In March of this year the company filed a complaint with National Arbitration Forum to get the domain name from its owner. The car dealer convinced the panel that the domain was used in bad faith, but not that it was registered in bad faith. In fact, the complainant admitted to the panel ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Yahoo! Change May Hurt Domain Parking Revenue - Change in pricing algorithm may lower parking payouts for domainers. Yahoo! (YHOO) just announced changes to its pay-per-click advertising program that will change the amount advertisers pay for clicks based on click quality. The company says it plans to “expand the adjustments” it already makes to click charges based on the quality of traffic the advertising source delivers. Although this may seem like it has an upside — good domain traffic would be rewarded ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Mirabella Beauty Products Guilty of Reverse Domain Name Hijacking - Panel not impressed with beauty company’s claims. California beauty products company Mirabella Beauty Products, LLC has been found guilty of reverse domain name hijacking by a three person arbitration panel. The company filed a complaint with National Arbitration Forum for the domain name Mirabella.com, but had some major holes in its argument. In its decision, the panel wrote: Here, the Respondent urges a declaration of reverse domain name hijacking on the ground ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN
Ambigram Company Finds Success with Domain Name Strategy - Mark Hunter created a winning domain strategy. If you think domains are a niche industry, take a look at a true niche: ambigrams. Essentially, an ambigram is word art that can be read from two different view points. For example, the image below shows an ambigram for “Domains”. If you rotate it 180 degrees, it still says “Domains”. (Some ambigrams have completely different words when you view them from a different angle. See FlipScript for examples.) When ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
How Companies Try to Stifle Online Criticism - Trademarks, copyrights, and other frivolous claims. We frequently see companies use UDRP to try to shut down domains critical of their businesses. But through running Domain Name Wire, I can tell you that it doesn’t stop there. They often try to use other means and threats to remove content that puts the company in a negative light. I’ve received complaints from people (typically complainants) when I write about how they lost a UDRP. They say my article is ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Tucows on NameJet, MLS, Candy.com, and Its Domain Portfolio - Conference call sheds light on the domain name market. Tucows (AMEX: TCX) held its quarterly investor conference call last night, which helped shed some light on the state of the company and the domain name market as a whole. NameJet: Tucows is seeing increased auction revenue of about $100,000 (presumably per quarter) through its expired domain deal with NameJet. Tucows’ Portfolio: The registrar continues to grow its own portfolio of domains faster than it sells ... read more ...
Thu 13th August 2009
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
SnapNames Monthly Showcase Auction Nets $36,902 - Today’s Snapnames.com Monthly Showcase Auction ended today with a total of just $36,902 in sales. The July showcase auction, which just ended three weeks ago grossed $108K. BuyGoldOnline.com lead the way today selling for $6,100. Here are the full results: Google+Michael Berkens ... read more ...
 
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
Celebs In Trademark Battle Over The Word “Nude” - Here’s an interesting offline trademark battle between celebs over the word “nude”. Seems that Designer Stella McCartney, daughter of Paul McCartney just announced that she will be releasing a new perfume StellaNude. Wife of Bono, leading singer of U2, Ali Hewson, and her business partner Bryan Meehan, have a company called Nude Skincare, which specializes in natural probiotic products. Hewson suggested naming the line Nude, as it was the reverse of “Edun”, Bono and Hewson’s green clothing ... read more ...
 
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
UPDATED: SnapNames Monthly ShowCase Auction Closes Today: All Domains With Bids Here - The SnapNames.com monthly showcase auction ends in about 30 min at 3:15pm EST today. Here are all the domains currently with bids at this auction. Several have multiple bids. There are a few nice names here. We will be updating during the next couple of hours. To join or watch the auction just click on the link: contractorjobs.com $1,600buygoldonline.com $1,750gels.com $4,820reactions.com $1,358petgrooming.net $6504n.net $2,000balancetransfers.net $575cellphoneoffers.com $639tokyovacations.com $530goodfood.net ... read more ...
 
Written by The Domains in EN
Bad News For Domainers? Kids Don’t Use URL’s But Search Engines To Connect To Sites - If A new study by security firm Symantec is accurate, its bad news for domainers. The study found that kids use search engines to find sites, rather than typing the URL’s directly into the navigation bar. “YouTube” was the #1 most search term, “You Tube” was #11 and “YouTube.com” #12. Google was the #2 most search term. Facebook was #3. Myspace was #5. Get the idea? Why would kids go to a search engine and type in facebook, rather than typing in facebook.com into the browser directly? The ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN
Internet Engine Upgrades Its Domain - Internet Engine finally gets the domain name it wants. When SEO firm Internet Engine started in 2000, it had a tough time acquiring the corresponding domain name. It ended up settling on Internet-Engine.net. But the hyphen and .net always bothered founder Thom Disch. “Certainly everyone prefers having a top level domain of .com instead of .net,” said Disch. Getting someone to sell a better domain name to him wasn’t easy, though. “No one was letting go of ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Dispute Resolution: Sandra Bullock, DKB.com, and More - A run down of recent UDRP decisions and case filings. SandraBullock.com: Sandra Bullock has won her case for the domain name SandraBullock.com. DKB.com: Hmm. Deutsche Kreditbank AG has filed a case with World Intellectual Property organization to get the domain name DKB.com. The domain was registered back in 1996 and DKB Data Services, Inc has owned the domain since at least 2001 (the earliest available whois record). Unless something crops up in the case that’s ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
GoDaddy’s 2008 Revenue Nearly $500M - Company’s revenue up 2.5x in three years. [Update: 2009 revenue was about $750 million.] The Go Daddy Group, parent company of domain name registrar GoDaddy, generated nearly a half billion dollars in revenue in 2008 according to the recently released Inc. 5000 list. Inc. magazine reports the company pulled in $497.9 million in 2008 compared to $139.8 million in 2005, a growth of 256%. That’s good enough to earn it spot number 1,241 on Inc.’s list for revenue ... read more ...
Wed 12th August 2009
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
Microsoft Hit With Injunction From Selling “Word” - According to PC Magazine, Microsoft’s Word program  has been found to violated the patent of a Canadian technology company, i4i. Microsoft was fined by the court $290 Million (small change to Microsoft) but the judge also ordered Microsoft to stop selling the program within 60 days. The judge ruled that Word products may not “have the capability of opening a .XML, .DOCX, or .DOCM file (“an XML file”) containing custom XML.” However the judge noted if Word was modified so that it could ... read more ...
 
Written by The Domains in EN
Is Twitter Going To Start Enforcing Its Trademark? - As we all know Twitter is one of those rare companies that have allowed other sites to spring up using the term “twitter” in their domain name or a variation thereof. Today according to a report, Twitter sent a C D letter to MyTwitterButler.com saying “that the domain is infringing on Twitter’s trademark and asks that the developer deactivate and transfer the domain back to Twitter.” “As you are likely aware, Twitter’s extensive and widespread use of its Twitter trademark provides ... read more ...
 
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
Bigger Game Changer: GM Selling New Cars On eBay, Or Cars Using Only 50 Gallons Of Gas A Year? - GM, the new GM has two major announcements in the last couple of days which has huge implications for not only this car manufacture but the automotive industry. First GM announced its going to start selling new cars on eBay.com with “Buy It Now Pricing” and also allow people to “make offers” on the new cars. GM is rolling this out, testing selling new cars on eBay with 250 dealers in California, by initially listing 20,000 new cars. Can the Internet save GM? Second,  GM announced today, ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Tucows Reports Strong Earnings and More Stock Buybacks - Registrar turns in solid numbers and plans to buy back more shares. Tucows, the world’s third largest domain name registrar, released earnings today that show its business is weathering the economic downturn well. It also announced another offer to buy back shares in the company. Tucows (AMEX: TCX) reported net income of $4.48M for the second quarter 2009, compared to $2.21M for the same quarter last year. It’s hard to compare the quarters thanks to extraordinary ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
ICANN: Domain Tasting Down 99.7% - ICANN policy change leads to drastic drop in domain tasting. ICANN released a report (pdf) today that shows a 99.7% drop in domain tasting since adding new penalties to the practice. “Domain tasting” refers to registering a domain name and then returning it for a full refund during the first five days of registration. The data show that deletes during the grace period (which were primarily tasting prior to the changes) is down 99.7% from June 2008 to April 2009, ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Rating Bido’s New Features - Domain auction platform Bido makes more changes. You have to hand it to Bido. They relentlessly brainstorm, create, and tweak features to make their platform better. About a month ago Bido starting allowing multiple auctions per day and allowed users to vote on domains for auction. This caused some problems. Namely, a lot of low quality domains are at auction and selling for less than registration fee. Those that do sell would have sold for more if they were the ... read more ...